A Difference Lying Down
by Bananarock509
Summary: A boy lies asleep, deep in the Hokage's vault. "He is nice to talk to, because he can't tell anyone else." The Third believes. But the Fourth is suspicious. How does this comatose boy know what he knows? What if he wakes up? Another description inside.
1. Lord Fourth

**Description: Deep underneath the Hokage tower lays a secret that will forever impact the great village. The Third decide to only tell of this secret to the one that will succeed him as Hokage. No one but the Hokage knows of the secret under the tower, and the therapeutic properties it has. After all, if it can't talk, you don't have to worry about having a top secret conversation with it. But what happens when that secret starts to react in ways they could never predict? This secret will definitely make a difference lying down.**

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><p><strong>A Difference Lying Down<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

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><p><strong>-Lord Fourth-<strong>

In an office, located in the Hokage Tower of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, stood three men. One man stood in front of the other two, hands crossed behind his back as he gazed calculatingly at the two Shinobi in front of him.

The office wasn't to decorated; there were the pictures of the three Hokage upon the back wall and bookshelves on both sides of the office. In the back of the room was a large widow that overlooked Konoha and its entire populace.

In front of the window was a desk, with a large rolling office chair. But you could hardly see the desk as it was drowned underneath the demon of all Hokage. Paperwork. There was no winning against the evil piles of white paper and rolled scrolls.

The man standing alone was of an older age, reaching his mid-fifties. He was of a shorter stature then both young men in front of him, but he emitted a silent and easily overlooked strength that demanded respect while emanating an underlying gentleness that showed his protective nature.

He was dressed in the traditional red robes of the Hokage, and wore a white hate that covered most of his face with the kanji for fire upon it.

This aging man was known as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. Protector of the Leaf Village and all its inhabitants. Nicknamed The Professor for his excellent deduction skills and extensive knowledge.

The two men in front of him were two promising Shinobi for him to pass his title to. That's right. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was retiring and this was the day that he revealed his successor.

The man standing on his left was a sunny blond whose hair was spiky with two bangs along the side of his face and had a matching sunny disposition to his hair color. He was a man that Hiruzen could definitely trust to care for the people of the village. His blue eyes shinned with kindness that was hidden expertly from his enemies but shared graciously with his allies.

He wore a blue body suit with the standard Jounin vest. There were two bands upon both his arms. One just above his elbow and one just below his wrist. He had wrappings in the middle of his right thigh and a kunai holster just over the wrappings. The ends of his pants were tapped down, as to not ride up his leg and get in his way as he fights. And he wore a pair of standard, black ninja sandals.

He was of a lean build of average height with nicely tanned skin, uncommon among the people of Konoha, and emanated a welcoming aura that drew many people in. His appearance was very deceiving. No one would expect such a kind and carefree looking man to be a seasoned killer, and a certified genius.

He could instantly lock away the friend of the people and appear serious and unapproachable, emitting the aura of a leader unafraid to do whatever he could for his comrades. He could become an experienced killer and then just as easily lock it away and act as if he didn't have the lives of hundreds on his hands.

He was in his mid-twenties, and even if that was young for a candidate for Hokage, he was very promising and the personal choice of the Third Hokage. This young man was the student of his student, Jiraiya, his name was Minato Namikaze.

Standing on the old Hokage's right was a man who seemed to be the exact opposite of the blond.

The man had long, straight black hair with piercing gold eyes that resembled a snake. He was pale white and had purple markings running from the corner of his eyes, along his nose reaching to the bottom of his nose.

His outfit consisted of a black body suit, with a standard, green Jounin vest. His shoes were also the standard, black, ninja sandals. His outfit was meant to be inconspicuous but added to his dangerous aura.

He always emitted an unapproachable aura, and not many people could feel comfortable around him and his piercing eyes.

He was a man ruled by logic and locked out his emotions. The only time he didn't lock his emotions away seemed to be when he is around his Genin teammates, but even that seems to have lessened considerably lately.

He was the student of the Third Hokage, and one of the Legendary Sannin. His name was Orochimaru and he was a man that Hiruzen was nervous about ever becoming Hokage.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his student, or didn't care about him. He was worried about his former student's mental state. His whole family had been killed in battle in the Third Great Shinobi War and ever since, he has grown distant and developed an almost unhealthy obsession with immortality.

Hiruzen was extremely concerned for his student, Orochimaru pursued knowledge just as Hiruzen did, but he could take things to a new level, going as far as to experiment diligently on anything he was allowed.

Hiruzen was beginning to suspect that he even went outside the bounds the village allowed in experimentation. Which is why Hiruzen didn't nominate him for Hokage.

No. The one to nominate Orochimaru was Hiruzen's old teammate, Danzo Shimura.

Hiruzen, no matter how much he cared for his old teammate, knew he could not trust Danzo with the safety of the people of Konoha. Especially since Danzo was often described as an "Old War Hawk". No. He couldn't trust Danzo to think of the people, he only cared for the Village's standing, not what made up the Village.

So here they stood in the Hokage office. Two waiting in anticipation for the old man to speak. And one preparing to announce who was to take up the Hokage mantle and protect the village.

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><p><strong>Hiruzen POV<strong>

I stood there, looking at the two in front of me. The atmosphere was tense with an underlying anticipation. The tall, strict stances, and calm expressions may not show it, but the two men emanated anticipation and excitement.

I took a deep breath to prepare for what I was about to say, and looked from my student to the student of my student. It was time, time to begin a new era in the Village of Konoha.

Exhaling, I then took another deep breath and began.

"As you both now, I am getting old," I stated and looked between the two, daring them with my eyes to show the slightest confirmation to my confession.

But other than a slight twitch at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth and the tiny gleam of amusement in Minato's eyes, the two men stayed composed.

"And since I am growing old I have decided to step down as Hokage."

I looked both men in the eye as I said my next statement,

"You both were nominated for the position of Fourth Hokage; you both show the qualities of Hokage. You are leaders, you are accomplished in battle, you both are strong, and I believe that both of you would protect this village to the best of your ability."

I paused to take a breath and decided to take a quick observation of the two. Minato was hiding his thoughts well behind an appearance of calm composure, looking straight ahead. But his eyes gleamed with pride, and joy. He was truly happy with just being acknowledged for his eligibility.

I looked over to the man next to him, Orochimaru, and looked into his eyes. His expression was calm, but had a cool composure that the blond only adorned upon the battlefield. And in his eyes held a smaller gleam of pride, but also something that Hiruzen couldn't identify. But it made him want to shiver, and he would have if he were a lesser man.

Finishing my observation I continued, "However, there can only be one acting Hokage, and so I called you both here to announce the Fourth Hokage."

Closing my eyes, I began to think. _Here we go. It's time. The new Fire Shadow and protector of the Will of Fire._

Opening my eyes, I looked them both in the eye. The suspense was building, and the room was becoming so thick with it that could cut it with a kunai.

"The man to succeed me will become the new Fire Shadow and carry on the Will of Fire. He will protect the people of Konoha, even at the cost of his own life. The new Hokage is… Minato Namikaze."

There was a pause in the room, as everything went silent, and the two in front of me absorbed this news.

Then two very different, contradicting, reactions erupted in the room. Creating a new and stifling atmosphere and the two feelings warred in the room for dominance.

The room was evenly split between the two men. One was glowing with excitement, pride, disbelief, happiness, and a satisfying sense of achievement.

But the other side of the room was in a whole different spectrum of feelings. There was anger. No, Rage. Disappointment, contempt, and something extremely dangerous and unknown to myself that had me worried about my former pupil's thoughts.

I looked over to my former student, but I couldn't stop this age-old tradition just to check on him.

"Congratulations Minato, your hard work and devotion to Konoha has been recognized by myself, the Council of Elders, and the Fire Daimyo himself. I hope you will make a great Hokage and lead this Village into the future. I trust in your abilities and your commitment to serve this village well as the Fourth Hokage."

Finishing my speech, I walked over to Minato. Once I stood directly across from him, I took off the Hokage's hat and handed it to him.

He graciously accepted the hat, and placed it upon his head. I gave a low bow and said, "Congratulations Lord Fourth Hokage."

And as I lifted myself from my bow, I lifted my eyes to examine his face. His calm exterior had finally cracked. His face was split in an unbelievably wide grin as he beamed down at me. His eyes shining with what seemed to be tears of joy that he was valiantly holding back.

He bowed to me and replied, "Thank you, Lord Third Hokage."

And with that the private ceremony was done. I turned to Orochimaru and opened my mouth, but he was already turned. Walking with angry. Measured steps to the exit of the office. And before I could utter a word he had opened the door and closed it with a loud _SNAP!_

Minato and I stood there in silence for a minute. Staring at the door where the Sannin had just left. Trying to comprehend what just happened.

Realizing I hadn't closed my mouth when I prepared to speak to Orochimaru, I closed it and turned to Minato.

Minato was turned toward the door. His eyes showing concern and he adorned a troubled expression.

Heaving a silent sigh at my former student's antics, and admiring Minato's concern for even the most distant acquaintance. I cleared my throat to regain Minato's attention.

His head snapped back to me, a slightly startled expression on his face, showing he had been beginning to go into deep thought. He quickly composed himself and prepared to speak before I interrupted him.

"It is alright Minato; I will talk with my student. For now, let us forget about that little incident and continue onto more pressing matters."

And with that, we had forgotten about the incident. Moving onto more important and demanding matters.

**Narrator POV**

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><p>The two men stood in the Hokage office. After the Sannin's abrupt and angry exit, the Third Hokage knew that they needed to move onto more delicate and important matters.<p>

With that in mind, the Third left his thoughts and looked to the blond across from him. There were many delicate and important matters that he had to introduce the blond to.

Taking a deep breath Hiruzen began, "Minato," which regained the blonde's attention and the older man continued,

"There are many issues and important matters I need to make you aware of. First, you will be formally introduced as the Fourth Hokage to the villagers in a week."

This gained and understanding nod from the new Hokage, and his predecessor continued,

"Second, you will not be taking any missions until after your inauguration, in this time I will be teaching you the exact duties of the Hokage."

The Third paused again, and once again, received a nod of confirmation from the Fourth Hokage. With that the Third started once again,

"Third, you will learn the secrets that the Hokage must keep, which means we will be going to the Hokage vault that is underneath the Hokage Tower. Understand?"

The blond didn't look surprised that the Hokage had secrets they kept from the village, including the elders. And with a final nod of confirmation, the Third smiled in a grandfatherly way and said "Good," his tone ringing with approval before motioning the blond over toward his desk.

"Now with the serious business taken care of its time to start training you." Said the Third with a smirk as he and the Fourth walked toward his desk, and the mountain of monstrous paperwork.

Minato had an eager gleam in his eyes that the Third noticed. The Thirds smirk broadened and a sadistic gleam entered his eye as he thought. _Finally I can finally pass this horror onto some other poor sap._

When Minato and Hiruzen reached the desk, Hiruzen turned to Minato with that same smirk and gleam of sadistic glee in his eyes and began the introductions, "Minato, meet the bane of all Kages, Paperwork. Paperwork, meet your new victim, the Fourth Hokage."

As Hiruzen finished the instructions, he could see the excitement slowly drain from the Fourth's eyes as realization slowly dawned, before the horror gradually began to take hold.

Cackling with glee Hiruzen dragged Minato back to the desk as he tried to escape out the door of the office. Hiruzen was finally passing the curse on and Minato was not getting away.

In the village, it was early afternoon, and the villagers were going about their daily routines. Pleasant conversation could be heard throughout the whole crowd and a sense of peace and serenity was widespread throughout the village.

But the peace was soon interrupted as a yell of suffering, and torture sounded from the Hokage Tower.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

When the yell finally ended, there was silence went throughout the entire village. The citizens couldn't help but sweat-drop a little. But there was one common thought going through every villagers mind.

_That poor soul._

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><p><strong>End Chapter 1<strong>

**AN: Well this is gonna be fun. This is my story that has an idea of where I want to go but no Solid plan. I'm gonna enjoy this. Also, don't expect regular updates, I will try my best, but this is my free-lance side project. XD**

**Total Word Count: 2,635**

**Chapter Word Count: 2,477**

**Sincerely,**

**Bananarock509**


	2. Duties and Secrets

**AN: Wahooooo, three day weekend, gonna spend it writing for you guys! Alright I have to warn you, this might be a little slow in the beginning, just bear with me, it's gonna get good! (I hope XD).**

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><p><strong>A Difference Lying Down<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

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><p><strong>-Duties and Secrets-<strong>

Blazing shades of orange and gold started to disappear as the pink and purple crawled across the sky, giving proof to just how late it had gotten. However, it would be awhile until the black of night appeared to suppress the soft colors that now adorned the sky.

The temperature was warm and was slowly dropping at a constant rate as night edged forth. Yet the dark of night would still struggle to take all the heat from the air. It was proving to be stubborn and would likely keep the night comfortable for all the creatures that would continue to hustle about, even as the sun no longer rested dominantly in the sky.

And there was bound to be creatures in the night. In the village of Konoha those very creatures were preparing the village for night activities. Children ran home as street venders and the like began to take out their night lanterns, lighting the wick within to create a soft glow.

If one were to enter the village during the day they would see masses of people, bustling and haggling trying to get to their next location or secure the best price. Children would be running about playing their games, adding further to the crowded streets and cacophony of noise. Yet there was an organized chaos to this process that didn't seem to intervene with the lives of the people around them.

However, if one were to see the village at night it would be an entirely different experience. There is a quiet peace that hangs in the air as others are considerate to the people who don't join the nightly activity and allow them to sleep.

Not only is it a lot more quiet, but there is a certain atmosphere in the air as young couples come out to dine and enjoy the night with their significant other. But what is truly wonderful about the night is the beauty of the village itself.

The village glows with the soft lights of hundreds of lanterns from the preparations that begin before dusk. Giving the Village Hidden in the Leaves an unearthly beauty that makes it a truly magnificent sight to see.

However, the dark of night had yet to claim the village yet again and even as the people prepared for the coming event; one man was surely not joining tonight.

He ambled out of the tall tower of the Hokage as he headed in the direction of his home. His walk was slow and his head was slightly bowed with his eyes drooping wearily from the day's work.

The tired man that slinked from the Hokage Tower was none other than Minato Namikaze as he began to head home from his first day of training to take over as Hokage. He seemed to have aged by a few months, as his step was much more tired than when he had walked into the tower with an excited pep to his step.

The reason for why Minato was so tired? He blamed it on Hiruzen's positively sadistic joy in shoving all his paperwork towards Minato. The old Hokage was taking full advantage of Minato's status as Hokage in training to finally rid himself of the devil spawn.

However, Minato was able to give a pleased and slightly unnerving grin as he thought about his revenge on his predecessor. It involved the Satan spawn and Minato never being in the office. Oh yes! Hiruzen would feel his revenge as he had to replace Minato in the office as Minato went out on missions. After all, Minato was a strong, young shinobi. Leaving him doing office work would be a waste of his skills and a loss to the village's forces.

Minato continued to make his way down the streets of Konoha, headed towards his house and recently wedded wife. This was what he was looking forward to most; it was a great way to end his exhausting day. Seeing his wife was the only thing that kept him going at a constant pace towards the house, never slowing, never stopping. Just continuing to head for that bright light to give his exciting news.

As Minato passed the stalls that lined the streets, selling items he didn't bother to acknowledge in his tired haze, he noticed that the preparations for the night had begun. He heaved a minutely depressed sigh at not having the energy to celebrate out on the town tonight. Maybe his wife would have a way to celebrate?

He was now approaching the front steps of his house. It was a decent sized house, with only the necessary space, nothing more, nothing less. It was a shade of cream with a light brown door, not very different from many of the houses in Konoha.

As Minato approached his speed increased until he was at the door, twisting the nob open to allow him entrance to his -hopefully- saving grace. When he had pushed the door fully open he stepped in and scanned the rooms for his wife.

He first checked the sitting room before heading to the kitchen. The woman standing in the kitchen was stirring a pot of what looked to be noodles, most likely Ramen, the woman had an obsession with the food, not that Minato was complaining, he enjoyed the noodles almost as much as the woman stirring them.

The woman had on a green dress over a white T-shirt. Her hair reached past her hips and was blazing, undeniable shade of red that fascinated and entranced Minato. It was honestly the prettiest hair he had ever seen, and he didn't understand how people could not like the beautiful strands.

After watching his wife stirring the soup. Lost within her thoughts, he called out to her.

"Kushina." He called, letting her name flow from his lips, feeling just right.

The fiery beauty turned him and gave a breathtaking smile. Her nose crinkled up as she gave a toothy grin and her eyes squinted the tiniest bit as happy creases formed under her eyes. Her eyes glowed with warmth and welcome in their cloudy, blue-grey depths.

"Welcome home, Minato." She spoke with a warm tone, honestly glad to see him. Her smile never sliding in the slightest the entire time.

Her smile was quite infectious and wiped away Minato's weariness as he returned the shining smile. "I'm home." He replied as he, still smiling and growing ever larger, walked up to Kushina and gave her tight embrace.

Kushina seemed surprised, as she stood there rigid for a second, before she brought her arms up and returned the hug.

"Your awfully happy today Minato, did something happen while you were gone?" She asked in a questioning tone towards her husband as they hugged.

Releasing his wife and beaming even brighter, Minato backed up and put his hands on his hips before saying in a childish, playful voice, "I win, Kushina."

Kushina's smiling face turned to one of confusion. _What is he talking about?_ She thought as she continued to look at Minato. As she was scrutinizing Minato, trying to determine what he meant, Minato's grin only grew larger and his eyes shone with pride and gloating delight.

After a minute of this Kushina grew frustrated, "What's with that face?! Huh Minato!" She shouted as her ire grew to new proportions, making her hair begin to slink upward into the sky as she raised her fist.

Seeing the danger, Minato wisely dropped his gloating demeanor and quickly put his arms up in a placating manner, trying to calm his wife before the Red Hot Habanero paid him a visit.

Chuckling nervously, Minato answered, "O-oh uh-h, you know Kushina, r-rememb-ber that bet we made as k-kids?"

Kushina's rising fury took a pause as she stopped to think about what Minato could possibly mean. _What bet? One they made as kids? What could he possibly, oh, Oh, OH!_

Minato watched as Kushina's thoughts turned from confusion, to a dawning understanding, to a warring expression of pride and disbelief.

There was silence for about two minutes before Kushina's face broke into a new grin and Minato, determining that the danger had passed, returned the grin ten-fold.

Laughing happily, Kushina leapt at Minato knocking them to the floor as she kept a death grip on him. Kushina's head was turned towards Minato's head as, laughing all the while, she said, "Congratulations Blondie! I knew you could do it!" and as an afterthought in a whispered, grumble she added, "Although, if I had more time I could have made Hokage…"

Catching Kushina's grumbling Minato laughed along with her and held onto her fiercely. There was much joy and celebration is the Uzumaki-Namikaze household, as Minato and Kushina celebrated.

In the back of his mind, Minato acknowledged that he was probably not going to get as much sleep as he would have hoped. But as the night continued on, Minato continued to care less and less about that thought. _Man, Kushina can celebrate…_

_._

_._

_._

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><p>Minato became faintly aware of his surroundings as he pushed his groggy mind from the land of dreams. He sat up and took a cursory look around.<p>

Through the haze of his tired mind he took note of his surroundings. _Let's see… Sake bottles? Check. Party streamers? Check. Kushina sleeping next to me? Check._ All in all, his check didn't bring anything shocking. When Kushina had finally gotten off of Minato, she initiated celebrations.

And what a celebration it had been. Minato didn't know where she hid it all, but once she was up and running around, Kushina had been throwing up decorations and placing out sake bottle after sake bottle.

It was needless to say that Kushina had been ecstatic. And once she was done preparing, she grabbed Minato and forced him-not really, he hadn't really resisted-to dance and drink with her most of the night. Some things led to some others and well… Bed.

As Minato thought of last night's events he turned a curious shade of pink and decided it was probably time to get ready for another day of 'Hokage Training'.

Getting up, and ever constant of the woman sleeping like the dead next to him, Minato bent towards the red-head sleeping peacefully next to him and gently gave her a peck on the forehead, before he went to the closet to prepare for the day.

Pulling on his standard Jounin gear, Minato thought about what it would be like to wear the Hokage robes. A string of excitement shot through him before he remembered exactly what the robes looked like. _Maybe I should personalize his Hokage robes a bit?_ With that thought still in his head, Minato tied on his leaf hitai-ate and headed out the door and towards the Hokage tower.

As Minato walked the village he listened to the sounds of the world waking. It was early morning, the sun still hadn't risen and touches of dawn colored the skies.

As Minato looked about he could spot a few Shinobi leaping from the rooftops, off to get there missions for the day. The reason why Minato wasn't following his comrades' example or using his Hiraishin was simple. He was procrastinating. He didn't want to get to the tower any sooner than he had to because once he was there… Paperwork. Hiruzen was probably a week behind on paperwork and he was shoving all on Minato. 'Good training' he calls it. More like a good way to slack off.

Minato heaved a sigh. He shouldn't be so hard on the Third; after all, Sarutobi has had this job for many years now. He has had to suffer the paper menace longer than Minato. It is only natural that Hiruzen would find finally giving his work to someone else an intensely enjoyable event.

As Minato walked through the village proper, lost in his thoughts of mountains of paper and a grinning Sarutobi, the village was waking around him.

Minato had been walking for a good twenty minutes now, which gave the sun time to rise, and the people time to great the day, pulling themselves from the bliss of dreams to get to work for another day.

As Minato finally had the tower within his sights, civilians were leaving their beds and store owners were already up switching their sings to 'open'. The sight made a soft smile spread on the newly appointed Fourth Hokage's face, as he watched life come back to the empty streets of Konoha.

And as Minato reached the doors to the tower, the everyday noise of the village was in full swing. People shopping, parents taking their kids to the academy, and Ninja racing through the sky. Yes, it was a good day; a good day to smile.

With his peaceful thoughts, Minato walked into the tower and finally stopped dreading the office work. He could do it. He could handle the job as long as the people of the village were happy and at peace.

.

.

.

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><p>It was now late morning, early afternoon, as we join our favorite blond Hokage and his predecessor. The two sat at a desk in the Hokage's office, both working hard to sign paper after paper. There wasn't a sound but that of pen on paper. Ever since the Fourth had entered the office, gave a greeting to the retired Third, and sat down, it had been silent. And all the while, that goofy, self-satisfied smile never left the blonde's face.<p>

Sarutobi had been curious when Minato walked into the office with that smile. In fact, he had been fully prepared to give the boy hell once again, but something about that smile stopped him. And as Hiruzen sat there, he had a sneaking suspicion as to what had put that smile on his successors face.

Sitting in the silence, the Third waited for Minato to speak, but he never did. Working during the hours of morning, Hiruzen waited for the smiley blond to make conversation, and when the hours of noon started to creep up, and still not a word, Hiruzen's curiosity got the better of him.

Taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, the Third Hokage began to speak. "Minato my boy," he began in his grandfatherly tone, his curiosity leaking into his tone.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have been oddly quiet this whole time," at this point the blond Hokage had put down his pen and had his full attention on the Third. Curiosity and question gleaming in his own eyes.

The old Hokage took notice that he had Minato's full attention and continued on with his speech. "And that when you walked in this morning you were smiling and that that same smile hasn't left your face this whole time. I'm just curious Minato, as to what could have brought on your happiness and kept it through all this mind numbing paperwork?" The Hokage finished, giving Minato a cursory look.

Minato sat there in silence for a short time thinking over the best way to word the exact origin of his happiness. The silence held for a few short minutes as Minato kept his hand to his chin, and his face turned up in thought, before turning to face the aging man.

Still smiling Minato simply stated, "The villagers!"

Raising an eyebrow at that, Hiruzen gave a questioning look toward the new Hokage, asking him to elaborate.

And he did. Smile growing broader, Minato launched into the thoughts that had hit him as he stepped through the door. "Well, as I was walking here I was dreading the idea of another day of office work." At this, the Third gave a soft chuckle of laughter and motioned for Minato to continue.

Continuing in his bright tone, Minato presented his mindset. "I couldn't get over how much I believed this was unprecedented torture, that this was some punishment in the disguise of responsibilities. But then, as I walked through the door, I realized something."

Here, the blond paused and took on a thoughtful and peaceful look. He continued, his voice losing the excited edge, and going soft and peaceful. "I realized that I could do this. If it was for them, I could do this. As I listened to the people of Konoha go about their day, I realized that, as long as I am doing this for them, I could deal with the less desirable parts of being Hokage." Minato finished.

Looking to his successor with approval and pride, Hiruzen picked himself off from his chair, and walked towards the thoughtful young man. _I picked a good one_. Hiruzen thought, _I can show him without any doubts now._

Putting his hand on the young blonde's shoulder, Hiruzen motioned towards the door at the blue eyed man's questioning look. "Follow me Minato. There is something I wish to show you, and what you just told me made me confident that I could trust you with this secret."

Looking startled, the blue eyed man nodded robotically and stood up. Wearing that same expression, he walked toward the exit of the office behind the Third Hokage. As they were about to step out of the room, Minato schooled his expression, presenting a calm, cool-headed individual, as he stepped out of the office.

Walking down hall ways towards a flight of stairs, Hiruzen didn't glance back once as he said, "Stand guard here ANBU, this is for the Hokage's eyes only." With that, the shadows in the corner of Minato's eyes grew still, obeying the order of their Kage.

Returning his full attention to the aging man in front of him, Minato followed the aging Kage down the flight of stairs.

Continuing on for two minutes, the two walked in silence, descending to the underground vault of the Hokage. Without preamble, Hiruzen spoke, as if to continue his earlier request for Minato to follow him.

"The reason why I didn't show you this yesterday was because I was waiting to see you show that you could put the village before yourself." The old Hokage stated in a serious, beseeching voice, urging Minato to understand that it was nothing personal.

Nodding, Minato spoke to ease the old Hokage's worries, his tone full of nothing but respect. "I assure you Lord Third; I take no offense to your caution. It is only natural that the Hokage put the thoughts of what is in the best interest of the villagers first. Especially when picking someone to uphold those ideals."

Chuckling lightly, the Third nodded his head to Minato's words and said in a laughing voice, "Minato, we are both Hokage now; you don't have to call me Lord Third. Please call me Hiruzen."

Smile spreading across his face, Minato voiced his acceptance, "Hai hai, Hiruzen."

Laughing a bit harder at the young man's light hearted affirmation, Hiruzen continued on with his explanation, his voice hiding none of his amusement, "We are headed towards the Hokage Vault, as I am sure you have suspected."

Receiving a sound of affirmation, Hiruzen continued. "Down here is where the Hokage keeps his secrets. Only those trusted now the location of the stairs, and only the Hokage and whoever the Hokage deems trustworthy enough are shown the technique to open the vault."

As the Third Hokage explained this, Minato's excitement grew. _This is truly an honor! To be trusted with the way to enter the Hokage's Vault!_ As Minato's thoughts continued, his excitement grew.

Sensing the blonde's excitement, Hiruzen donned a small smile and continued with his explanation, "Down here is where the secrets not even known to the council are kept. This is to keep the village safe from the prospect of the greater likeliness that Konoha's secrets will be leaked."

Minato's excitement dimmed a bit as he thought over just who would like to use Konoha's deepest secrets against her. A sort of grim settled over Minato then, before being fought back by determination. _No one is going to use these secrets against Konoha! They will have to kill me before I allow them anywhere near the vault!_

His fiery determination renewed, Minato followed Hiruzen to the bottom of the stairs, walking with greater purpose behind the older man, towards the sealed entrance of the Vault.

When they stopped, they were both standing in front of a heavy, solid metal door. Scrawled across the door were seals upon seals. Each various types of locking seals of varying degree to form one complex lock. And built into the locking seals, there were various trapes, ranging from simple alarm seals to powerful explosions, designed to only harm the intruding entity.

It was truly a work of art. Probably drawn by the Uzumaki clan before they were obliterated. Most likely done in the time of the First Hokage, probably done by his wife, Mito Uzumaki.

Minato was pulled from his thoughts as Hiruzen asked for his attention, "Minato, when I ask, put your hand upon the vault door and expel some chakra into the seals. The seals are designed to check the chakra of whoever preforms the seals to open the door as a precaution. I need to make sure that we imbed your chakra into the formula, so that next time, you can come down yourself without any trouble."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Minato stood ready. He watched as the Third Hokage preformed the seals to open the door, carefully memorizing each one in order, to properly open the door on his next visit. Hiruzen then paused on a hand seal, before holding out both his arms and placing his palms upon the door. "Now, Minato."

Acting immediately, Minato placed his own palms upon the surface and pumped his chakra into the seal, along with Hiruzen's. There was a pause. Most likely being caused by the seal analyzing and memorizing Minato's chakra, before there was a click, and the door to the vault was unlocked.

Hiruzen pushed the door open and ushered Minato inside. Hiruzen followed after, and after checking the hallway outside the door, he closed it and preformed a few seals to relock the door.

Minato had continued to watch Hiruzen as he performed the seals to lock the door, so he had now memorized how to open and close the vault. With the door once again locked, Hiruzen looked toward Minato and walked so that he was in front of the young man.

Motioning for Minato to follow, the old man walked down the hallway that belonged to the Vault. It was just one hallway, made of gray cement. Along the hallway were doors, each metal and each leading, most likely, to an individual secret of the Hokage.

The hallway was long, disappearing into the distance. And it was slightly wider than the width of two people, allowing Minato and Hiruzen to walk beside each other down the endless hall.

The two walked in companionable silence in the corridor. They stayed like that for a long while until Hiruzen stopped at a door. Turning to Minato with grave eyes, he began to speak with an air of extreme seriousness.

"Minato."

Catching the sudden magnitude of his tone, the blond turned toward his predecessor with guarded curiosity. Seeing this, the graying haired old man continued.

"Behind this door is one of my best kept secrets. The only people other than I who now of it are a medic ninja from the hospital, who I have the upmost trust in, and Inoichi Yamanaka. Other than those two and myself, no one has been in this room and seen its contents."

Now Minato's curiosity had been peaked. What could be in that room that required a medic and the clan head of the Yamanaka? Seeing his confusion, Hiruzen only deepened it as he finished his explanation with the highest level of grave, seriousness he could muster.

"I want you to remain calm, and wait for what I have to say, before you assume anything."

With that, Hiruzen turned toward the door and, after using some chakra to unlock the seals, Hiruzen pushed the door open. The two stepped into the doorway and stopped there.

It was small, cement gray room. It had no decoration or memorable details about it. It was dark, and hard to see within the closed room. And just as Minato was going to turn a questioning gave toward the third, he caught sight of something. It was the frame of a metal bed, the ones you would see in the hospital.

Minato followed the frame up from the base, all the way to the way to mattress. His eyes zeroed in on the lump of the mattress. It was the figure of a person, and although it was too hard to see any distinguishing features, Minato could tell the figure was on its back and that it was the body of a male.

Minato turned to look at the Third questioningly, to which the old man sighed to and said, in a much more weary voice, "Remember what I said Minato."

Nodding his understanding, the blond Hokage watched as Hiruzen slowly lifted his arm to a light switch that Minato just noticed. He then flicked the switch, and the room wasn't so dark anymore.

Turning his head back towards the figure, Minato began to inspect the man from the foot of the hospital bed, all the way to his head.

There was a white hospital sheet covering the man, so Minato couldn't see much, the only thing he learned was that the man was tall. So, realizing he wouldn't learn much by looking at the man's covered feet, Minato's gaze began to travel upwards.

As he started his upward analyzing of the man, Hiruzen watched wearily from the sidelines. Minato's gaze had traveled up the man's body, showing that the man had a sturdy figure, and Minato wondered absently, how long had this man been in this bed? In this room? Why was he still in this room?

And as Minato's gaze traveled up the man's chest, over his neck, and to his face, he was shocked at what he found. Watching Minato, Hiruzen grew worried as he saw Minato stiffen. He had finally seen.

What shocked Minato so completely was that the face he was looking at wasn't that of a man's. No, this was the face of a teenager. You could see it in the soft details on his face, the fat from childhood still slightly present, and the details of a young man pushing through.

Finally, after getting over the shock that the face was that of a teenager's, Minato began to take in the details of the face. It was a bad idea. As he looked on, he stood stiffly in his spot. The boy's features were _very_ familiar to Minato.

Hiruzen watched on as Minato relaxed from his shock, only to instantly go rigid. _So, Minato just took a good look at his face?_ Thought Hiruzen, as he watched his successor struggle to understand what he was looking at.

It was truly a shocking sight for Minato, because on that bed, laid a boy, and that boy had very distinguishing features. Deciding to start with something easy, Minato looked at the boy's face. It was relaxed and peaceful, like all others are when they surrender themselves to sleep.

What caught Minato's attention were the three lines that adorned each of the boy's cheeks. _Like whiskers._ Minato noted absently; and looking at the face, he felt a sense of familiarity washing over him. However, unable to pin-point where this feeling came from, he shrugged it off. He moved on to the top of the boy's head where he shock and disbelief originated from.

There, on the boy's head, sat his hair. But what caught Minato was the _shade _and _style_ of the hair. It was spikey, sunny blond hair. _His_ spikey, sunny blond hair. Not being able to comprehend this, Minato just stared in shocked silence for a while.

Finally, after long minutes of silence. Minato's brain kicked back into drive. There was a rising, confusion in Minato. But that didn't stand a chance before a rising, silent fury began to burn through his veins. He wasn't sure what to make of the boy, but he knew one thing. _We look like each other!?_ And with that thought, he turned toward Hiruzen. His fury shown in his eyes, but he held it back and kept up a calm façade as he looked to Hiruzen for answers.

The old man heaved a sigh, suddenly seaming to take on his true age, as the leader vanished under the visage of a weary old man, and in a weary, troubled voice, the elder spoke.

"I don't know."

It was stated so simply, and Minato felt his fury die out as he noticed that the simply stated words were backed by the troubled tenor of the Third's voice. Noticing Minato calm, the Third relaxed a bit and continued with his explanation.

"I don't know why he looks like you Minato; we have been unable to take a blood sample. His chakra is protecting him, preventing anything from being taken; only given. We can feed him through an IV drip, but we are unable to take his blood. The other peculiar thing is that he hasn't lost any of his muscle mass. His body seems to be in a frozen state; at least his physique seems to be frozen. He has been here for three months now and nothing about his physical appearance suggests that he has been asleep that long. We have tried to identify him using Inoichi to walk through his mind however, his mind is blocked by a mental barrier that Inoichi can't seem to get through; it is beyond anything he has ever seen."

Pausing to take a breath, Minato took advantage and asked a question that had been nagging him all throughout Hiruzen's explanation.

"That is all very important to know Hiruzen, but what qualifies him to be one of the Hokage's closest kept secrets, hidden within the Hokage's Vault, other than that he looks like me?" Minato asked with a slightly disbelieving tone. _What made this boy so special?_

Finally feeling a smile take to his face and some of the weariness slide of his shoulders, Hiruzen replied, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Watch and listen carefully Minato."

At this, Minato turned his attention to Hiruzen. The old man had the traces of a smile on his lips as he began to step forward. Hiruzen noticed Minato's attention and motioned for him to look back at the sleeping boy.

Turning his attention once again to the shocking head of blond hair, Minato watched the boy's face as his predecessor took a step forward. The reaction was instantaneous. The boy's face scrunched up as if he were thinking, before his mouth opened and he uttered a few words that kept Minato stock still before he had to put a hand over his mouth to cover his chuckles.

What had the boy said, you ask? In his soft, croaky, unused voice that had a hint of joy, the boy had said, "Old Man." _How did this boy recognize Hiruzen's presence?_

Minato got over his shock and gave a few covered chuckles before turning to look at Hiruzen. The old, battle weary Hokage had a soft smile on his face and his eyes were soft. This instantly cut of Minato's amusement as he studied the situation.

Hiruzen was looking at the boy with the fondness of a grandfather. Minato could clearly see that Hiruzen liked the boy. Although, he had to wonder why. The boy only said 'Old Man' and he clearly wasn't awake, so how could Hiruzen have grown so fond of the comatose boy? It wasn't like the boy said more than that, or did he?

Sensing Minato's growing questions, Hiruzen turned to answer him. Facing Minato was a much more calm Hiruzen Sarutobi, then the one that stood waiting for Minato's reaction minutes earlier. And in a light voice Hiruzen aimed to answer the blond Hokage's unasked questions.

"I'm not sure how the boy does it, most likely he senses my chakra, but the point I am sure you're wondering about is how he knows my chakra. Again, I'm not sure, since I first found him, he has always responded to my presence with 'Old Man'." Here Hiruzen gave a light laugh before continuing.

"The only other person's presence he has responded to is Inoichi, he had called out 'Inoichi' the moment Inoichi had stepped this far into the room."

Minato could see the amusement in the old man, but he could also sense Hiruzen's underlying weariness too. Hiruzen may find this boy amusing, but he is also weary of how he can name people by their presence alone.

Nodding to Hiruzen to continue, because there surely had to be more, the older man spoke on.

"I often come down here to check on him for changes in his state. Not once has he showed signs of waking, but he has never failed to respond to my presence. And around the beginning of the second month since he was brought to this room, I started talking to him."

Here Hiruzen turned back to look at the as he continued in a quieter voice.

"It was the day your squad came back from Kanabi Bridge."

Here they both bowed their heads to honor the chunin on Minato's team that had been killed that day, under a pile of rocks. Obito…

After a moment, they both lifted their heads and Hiruzen continued his story.

"I came down here, the boy acknowledged my presence, and I sat here in silence for a while. Then I began to talk, I talked about how I was weary of the war, and how I was sick of sending young kids out to the war, only for them to come back scared or not at all. And during the whole time, he lied there, and he listened, and so, since that day, I have come down here and talked with him about whatever was on my mind. I don't come too often, maybe at the end of every week, but what I want to tell you Minato is that, no matter how hard being Hokage gets, you still have someone down here to talk to, and the best part? He won't tell anyone else!"

As Hiruzen finished, Minato stood there and absorbed this. All these things were in the Hokage's Vault to keep the village safe. This boy was kept from the village because he was an unknown with surprising knowledge of information that he shouldn't be aware of. How many enemies of Konoha are so attuned to the shinobi of Konoha's chakra to be able to identify them? Not many if any. So that explains why the boy needs to be kept secret.

Now why had Hiruzen decided to show Minato the boy specifically? Sure the boy looked like Minato, but that wasn't it. No. Think back, why would Hiruzen show him the boy?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_I couldn't help but notice that you have been oddly quiet this whole time," at this point the blond Hokage had put down his pen and had his full attention on the Third. Curiosity and question gleaming in his own eyes._

_The old Hokage took notice that he had Minato's full attention and continued on with his speech. "And that when you walked in this morning you were smiling and that that same smile hasn't left your face this whole time. I'm just curious Minato, as to what could have brought on your happiness and kept it through all this mind numbing paperwork?" The Hokage finished, giving Minato a cursory look._

_Minato sat there in silence for a short time thinking over the best way to word the exact origin of his happiness. The silence held for a few short minutes as Minato kept his hand to his chin, and his face turned up in thought, before turning to face the aging man._

_Still smiling Minato simply stated, "The villagers!"_

_Raising an eyebrow at that, Hiruzen gave a questioning look toward the new Hokage, asking him to elaborate._

_And he did. Smile growing broader, Minato launched into the thoughts that had hit him as he stepped through the door. "Well, as I was walking here I was dreading the idea of another day of office work." At this, the Third gave a soft chuckle of laughter and motioned for Minato to continue._

_Continuing in his bright tone, Minato presented his mindset. "I couldn't get over how much I believed this was unprecedented torture, that this was some punishment in the disguise of responsibilities. But then, as I walked through the door, I realized something."_

_Here, the blond paused and took on a thoughtful and peaceful look. He continued, his voice losing the excited edge, and going soft and peaceful. "I realized that I could do this. If it was for them, I could do this. As I listened to the people of Konoha go about their day, I realized that, as long as I am doing this for them, I could deal with the less desirable parts of being Hokage." Minato finished._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_I often come down here to check on him for changes in his state. Not once has he showed signs of waking, but he has never failed to respond to my presence. And around the beginning of the second month since he was brought to this room, I started talking to him."_

_Here Hiruzen turned back to look at the as he continued in a quieter voice._

"_It was the day your squad came back from Kanabi Bridge."_

_Here they both bowed their heads to honor the chunin on Minato's team that had been killed that day, under a pile of rocks. Obito…_

_After a moment, they both lifted their heads and Hiruzen continued his story._

"_I came down here, the boy acknowledged my presence, and I sat here in silence for a while. Then I began to talk, I talked about how I was weary of the war, and how I was sick of sending young kids out to the war, only for them to come back scared or not at all. And during the whole time, he lied there, and he listened, and so, since that day, I have come down here and talked with him about whatever was on my mind. I don't come too often, maybe at the end of every week, but what I want to tell you Minato is that, no matter how hard being Hokage gets, you still have someone down here to talk to, and the best part? He won't tell anyone else!"_

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

><p>Coming out of his thoughts as realization dawned on him, Minato smiled. Hiruzen was telling him that, no matter what he has to deal with as Hokage, the boy would always be here to listen.<p>

Feeling a bit lighter at the lifting of the weight of thoughts Minato no longer had to keep to himself, that he could share with this boy who wouldn't share them with anyone else, Minato looked toward the boy, smiling, and took a step forward.

The reaction was instant.

As soon as Minato had taken the vacant place next to Hiruzen, the boys head had whipped in their direction. The two froze in shock as they saw a wide, foxy grin spread across the boy's whiskered face. And when he opened his mouth, his voice came out strong and sure this time, with no sign of disuse. When he spoke, his voice was full of admiration, awe, and was that… a twinge of… pride? What he said had them rooted to their spots, as there was no way the boy would have known this information, yet he spoke clearly and without hesitance. He said,

"Lord Fourth!"

His tone was so bright and happy. But the two men only stood there. Frozen in their shock.

This was truly turning into an eventful day for one Minato Namikaze, and it was all thanks to one comatose boy hidden in the Hokage's Vault.

_Why is it always me?_

* * *

><p><strong>End Chapter 2<strong>

**AN: Yay! Chapter 2! IT'S SO LONG! I am so neglecting this other story that I'm not going to post for a while, but this one is so fun to write! And my idea is totally original. Sure it's time travel, but it is a whole different take on Naruto's situation! Next chapter probably won't be out as fast as this one, I have school people! So no complaining. Don't worry, this won't be boring! Shit will explode at some point, I'm just not gonna tell you when, you'll just have to be faithful and wait for me to spit out the rest of the story! I'm such a spaz… Any-way, there you are my faithfuls! Chapter 2! R&R! It really does help a writer!**

**Story Word Count: 6,732**

**Total Word Count: 7,079**

**Sincerely,**

**Bananarock509**


	3. Unease and Loss

**AN: I'm back bitches! Sorry, I'm in high school so I have less free time. Scholl ends at 3:45 I get home at 4:45 and then I do homework. So, yeah. I also now have a part-time job, so expect even more time between updates. But it is Thanksgiving break and I have a whole week for you guys! Anyway, at first I was just writing this story because the idea just came to me and it was unique, different from anything I had read, other than that it is time travel… So as I was saying, I was just writing, I knew what I wanted to do in the beginning and all, but I wasn't sure about what to do to really make the plot pick up after I was done with the beginning… It was truly sad; I came on with a half-baked idea… BUT now I have a great idea! It just came to me a couple days after posting my other story, Old or New? How About Both!, and I really like it. I don't have a solid ending idea but I have what can lead to it, decisions-decisions. Hahaha, delayed… no excuse… Christmas Break! Hahahahaha. Wait, I do have an excuse, my parents keep dragging me out of the house. Anyway, Here is Chapter 3.**

**A Difference Lying Down**

**Chapter 3**

**-Unease and Loss-**

The two men stood in shocked silence, the blond boy in the hospital bed still beaming brightly at the future Fourth Hokage. The older of the two men was truly shocked at the fact that the boy had reacted so intensely to Minato. However, the man of the older man's thoughts' mind was whirling. _That boy… he is comatose, and has been so since before I was elected – unofficially – to the post of Hokage, how does he know…?_

As Minato stood there and sorted through his rampaging thoughts, the boy turned his head back so that it was facing the ceiling once again, but a soft smile still adorned his face. Minato caught the movement and watched the boy's actions cautiously. _ He does look truly happy, but his knowledge…_

Minato was uneasy with the boy, he knew things he shouldn't be able to know, and it was truly unnerving. Stealing a glance at his predecessor, Minato noticed that Hiruzen had a contemplative face, but he didn't look very suspicious, or worried. This concerned Minato, _He has grown attached to the boy, so much so that he doesn't seem to register the boy's suspicious knowledge._

Coming to a decision, Minato cautiously turned his attention to the Third, being careful to keep the boy in his peripheral vision, and spoke, "Lord Third, we should probably continue on our way through the Vault."

Giving a start as he was jerked out of his contemplations, the Third turned to Minato and gave a grandfatherly smile, "I believe that is a good idea Minato."

Turning, Minato finally took his eyes off the boy, and headed out the door after the Third. Minato couldn't be sure but, as he left the sensing range of the blond boy, he thought he heard the sound of a disappointed sigh.

Ignoring the possibility, Minato walked straight out the door and into the hallway. The Third turned back to the door, did a few hand signs, and the door closed and locked with a solid _bang_.

Minato watched all this, committing the hand signs to memory, he doubted he would come here often – if at all – but he would remember the way to get to the boy. He was a very troubling bauble that had landed in the Hokage's hands and it was his job now to protect the people, and that included protecting them from this suspicious boy.

.

.

.

Later that day, after Hiruzen had finished explaining to Minato the various other objects and secrets in the Hokage's Vault, Minato could be found walking in the village enjoying the warm afternoon that was so common in Konoha.

Minato was slightly surprised by the amount of secrets in the Hokage's Vault. He had expected a few secrets, but there were a few dating as far back as the First Hokage! The village of Konoha truly lived up to being a Ninja Village, full of secrets, kept even from her own people.

Minato walked along the roads of Konoha contemplating the many things he had just learned. He was soon drawn out of his thoughts though as he caught sight of a familiar shade of silver hair.

Changing direction, Minato headed to the person with the spiky silver hair. When he arrived, Minato found himself facing his student Kakashi. The young Jounin was sitting in a tea house with the other young ninja of his generation.

With all that has been going on Minato has hardly had any time to talk to the young Jounin and see how he was fairing with the loss of Obito. But as Minato watched, he saw a boy wearing a Green Jump-suit and orange leg-warmers walk up to Kakashi and start talking avidly to him.

Soon after, Rin walked down the street – looking slightly depressed, there was no sign of her usual cherry smile since Obito's death – until she saw Kakashi and stopped. She looked around at the group clustered in the tea house before her expression softened and she walked in to join them.

Rin quickly took the seat on the other side of Kakashi, the other being occupied by the green eye-sore.

Seeing that his students were enjoying their time with their friends, Minato decided to leave them be and headed off to the Training Grounds. _Maybe I can finally work on my training, it has been a couple of days…_ thought Minato. He had been stuck within the Hokage Tower for the past few days, learning about all his duties as the next Hokage, so he has had no time to train.

_If I don't take this opportunity I'll start going soft._

And with that Minato was gone in a yellow flash, might as well start practicing now, right?

.

.

.

Minato appeared in Training Ground 3, where he often trains his team and where Team 7 has continued to train ever since he can remember learning of the training grounds. Even his Sensei's Genin team, under the Third Hokage, had trained in this field.

Wishing to use all the time he could, Minato immediately settled into the first kata of his taijutsu stances and began to practice. His taijutsu, while not used very often since the Hiraishin was completed, was based around speed. He may not rely on taijutsu anymore like most Shinobi, however it was good to keep in practice. Not to mention that his taijutsu style fit perfectly with the Hiraishin.

Minato kept up his basic katas for a while before he started to integrate uses of the Hiraishin into the katas. There were multiple flashes around the training ground as Minato randomly appeared, each time in a new stance.

He continued this, increasing the speed in intervals, for a few hours. It was getting late. While the sun wasn't touching the horizon yet, the colors of sunset began to appear in the sky.

Deciding to take a break, Minato sat with his back against a tree and closed his eyes. And there he sat, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature, identifying them in his head. _A few birds nesting, the croaking of toads, the subtle start of chirping crickets, the sound of chirping lightning… Wait… What? _Opening his eyes, Minato turned his head toward the sound of lightning to see Kakashi, Sharingan revealed and practicing the Chidori.

Kakashi was breathing heavily as he charged up the Chidori, taking aim at the training dummies he had set up to practice. Letting out a breath as he finally charged his jutsu, he took a step, took a breath, and launched toward his targets.

There were four dummies in the field; two were out in the open, while the last two were in the trees. Kakashi quickly took off and just as quick, had punctured the two dummies in the open. He quickly changed direction, headed toward the last two. The first was just within the tree line – easy enough.

However, it was the second in the trees that would be trouble. Kakashi had no problem taking out the first dummy, and quickly turned to the second. He continued his charge, never breaking sprint.

This dummy was hidden behind a tree, mimicking an enemy in hiding, with his back to the tree. It would be a sharp turn for Kakashi, and there were multiple obstacles. The branches pf the tree hung low, creating cover for the dummy that would leave deep cuts on Kakashi if he were to run into them at his current speed. There was also a tangle of roots, working to trip Kakashi.

He had truly placed his target in a difficult position. While it was good for training his accuracy, Minato couldn't help but worry that Kakashi was starting out too difficult for his current skill set with the Chidori and the sharingan.

Still, Kakashi charged on, headed for his target. He made the sharp turn, avoided the roots and low branches. Clearing his obstacles, he freely charged at his target, arm outstretched to impale it… and charged right past.

Minato let out a heavy sigh as he watched Kakashi charge right past the wooden dummy, and straight into the tree behind it. _Just as I expected. Kakashi is a skilled Shinobi, however he doesn't have enough mastery over Obito's sharingan to take on such difficult targets._

With that, Minato stood up and approached the area Kakashi had disappeared at. As he approached, he heard Kakashi's exhausted gasps for air, and the slightly choked up sound warned Minato that Kakashi might not be as composed as usual.

When Minato finally reached Kakashi he saw Kakashi's hand still deeply impaled in the tree and his shoulders shook slightly as he fought to hold in the beginnings of grief. And as Minato got closer, he saw the tell-tale sparkle of tears dropping from Kakashi's mask.

Minato quietly kneeled next to Kakashi and placed his hand on the young jounin's shoulder. Continuing, Minato used his other hand to carefully extract Kakashi's hand from the trunk of the tree and placed it next to the teen.

Just as carefully, he turned Kakashi to face him. The jounin's head was bowed, the top of his face hidden by the shadow of his bangs. Sadness and regret were prominent emotions stirring within Minato. Kakashi was like this because Obito had died in a rock fall caused by an Iwa Shinobi and Minato felt deep regret that he hadn't been able to make it to his team in time to prevent the death of one of his students. The same feeling swam through Minato's student.

That wasn't the only thing bothering Kakashi though – although it was the leading reason – Kakashi was also beating himself up over the fact that he was the jounin in charge during this mission. He haunted himself with 'what if's' about the whole mission. What if he hadn't wasted so much time insisting they leave Rin? What if he had checked to make sure that all the enemies were dead before they released Rin from the genjutsu?

Kakashi would never know, although he assumed that they would have all returned to Konoha, injured and tired sure, but everyone would have returned alive. And as these thoughts circled in Kakashi's head, Kakashi let his emotional distress be known with his tears.

As Kakashi's tears continued to fall, Minato finally spoke up. "Kakashi," there was no response. "Kakashi,' Minato repeated a little louder, to the same results. "Kakashi," Minato said once more, tone stern and grip tightening on the young teen's shoulders.

This finally got a reaction as Kakashi lifted his head to look at his sensei. He made no sound as his tears continued to fall, only watched his sensei through clouded eyes, waiting for what Minato wanted to say.

Taking a deep breath, Minato continued in a softer voice though still stern, "Kakashi, what happened during that mission was not your fault."

At this, Kakashi stiffened. His emotions were going out of control. His sadness and anger raged within him. Saddened at his previous line of thoughts, but angered at Minato-sensei's insistence that it wasn't his fault that Obito had died. _I was the jounin leader! I was captain! The team was my responsibility! Of course it's my fault! Obito died protecting me from my mistake!_ And with that line of thoughts, Kakashi's anger and sadness combined into a riotous display of emotions, all aimed at Minato.

Kakashi wrenched himself from Minato's hands, his tear-filled eyes turning to glare daggers at Minato, and his whole body shook. And his anger burst forth, making his thoughts tumble from his mouth.

"I was the jounin leader! I was captain! The team was my responsibility! Of course it's my fault! Obito died protecting me from my mistake! He should be here, NOT ME! I WANTED TO ABANDON RIN! OBITO SHOULD HAVE COME BACK ALIVE! HE WAS THE BETTER SHINOBI!"

As Kakashi let out all his anger and sadness, Minato sat and listened. "I CAME BACK ALIVE, AND AS I WALK AROUND THE VILLAGE IT JUST REMINDS ME OF OBITO, OR I BECOME ANGERED FROM WATCHING EVERYONE GETTING ON WITH THEIR LIVES, EVEN THOUGH OBITO IS DEAD! I WATCH AS THE OTHERS FROM MY GENERATION CONTINUE TO GO ABOUT THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES, AS IF NOTHINGS WRONG, EVEN THOUGH OBITO WAS THEIR FRIEND!"

After this, Kakashi was taking deep breaths, trying to catch his breath after spilling his angered thoughts to Minato. And Minato just sat there, calmly watching Kakashi with a hint of remorse in his eyes. Kakashi needed this, to spill his inner demons. It was the only way to start Kakashi onto the road to recovery.

Finally, after Kakashi seemed to calm down enough to hear what Minato was about to say, he spoke. "Blame me." came Minato's solemn reply.

Kakashi jerked in surprise and looked towards Minato with equally surprised eyes that also held confusion. Kakashi's eyes met Minato's and there Kakashi saw Minato's inner turmoil. Although Minato was gently smiling at Kakashi, his eyes held regret, remorse, understanding, and acceptance. _Acceptance of what?_ Kakashi thought, repeating Minato's words in his head, and then it dawned on him, _he's accepting the blame for Obito's death?! _

Before Kakashi could reply, Minato spoke again, "Blame me."

The realization that his sensei accepted that it was his fault sobered Kakashi, and with this new clarity, Kakashi replied to Minato in an honest voice, wishing to display how truly he believed this statement, "It wasn't your fault Sensei," Kakashi's eyes darkened as he continued, "it was my fault, you weren't there." Kakashi stated as he returned his eyes to the ground.

"Exactly." Was Minato's reply as his eyes softened and his voice softened to a gentle timber. At this, Kakashi looked back up at Minato with wide eyes. And Minato explained his previous statement.

"I wasn't there," if it were possible, Kakashi's eyes widened even more as he realized where Minato was going with this. "I wasn't there for my students when they were in trouble. No matter what rank you are Kakashi, you are still my student and still very young. You were placed in a difficult situation with too little experience. In that case, it is my duty as your sensei to make up for that lack in experience, but I wasn't there."

Kakashi immediately began to protest, "But, Minato-sensei, you had another mission, there was no way you could have been there, you had the other troops to take care of."

At this, Minato only smiled softly before replying, "It's true that I had another mission however, I still failed to protect my team. My squad is my responsibility, no matter if you were in charge or not, I had the experience to prevent this outcome, but my inability to get to you in time prevented this."

Kakashi continued to try and redirect the blame back to himself, but Minato continued to block him at every rebuttal before he finally said, "Kakashi, if it is your fault, then it is more so mine."

With that, Kakashi finally gave in; realizing that no matter how much he blamed himself, Minato would only say it was his own fault to a higher extent. With that thought in mind he lowered his head and eyes in humility as he stated, "It wasn't your fault Minato-sensei," in a quiet voice.

Minato gave a soft smile at that and replied, "Then it isn't yours either, Kakashi."

With that, Minato wrapped Kakashi in a hug that he rarely, if ever allows, himself to receive and gave a truly happy, small smile. Kakashi was finally starting on the road to recovery.

Minato whispered one finally thing to Kakashi before they settled into silence, "The reason why the others are trying to be happy is because they know that, that is what Obito would want, he was never one to stay sad for a long time, he preferred that he and everyone else was happy."

An indeterminable amount of time passed with them sitting like that, and the moon slowly rose to cast its light upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

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Minato opened the door to his house in a relaxed manner. Finally feeling better about where Kakashi stood in terms to what happened to Obito. It hadn't been long since his student had died in the war, and everyday Minato had caught a glance of Kakashi, it was obvious that the young jounin had been spiraling into deep depression.

Minato had wanted to help his student sooner, but he had had so many responsibilities since their return from the mission. That mission, however horrible the price, had been the push needed to end the war and this had prompted Hiruzen to usher in a new era, with a new Hokage.

As Minato was the chosen candidate to be the Fourth Hokage, he had many new responsibilities and many things to learn. Unfortunately, that had leveled out to less time to worry about his spiraling student.

Of course, Minato was also worried about his other student, Rin, but she seemed to be handling the situation better than Kakashi. As Minato thought of this, he decided to find time to check on Rin, just to make sure his assumptions were correct.

Letting his thoughts drift from the subject of the emotional state of his students, Minato finally allowed himself to become aware of the heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. No matter what his thoughts, Minato would always stop thinking about it when he smelled Kushina's cooking.

From what he could tell, Kushina had made one of her special curry recipes. Entranced by the smell, he followed it into the kitchen to find Kushina finishing setting his plate of curry on the table.

Kushina noticed his presence quickly, and soon looked up at him with shining violet eyes and a gentle smile. "Welcome home." She said as Minato passed the door frame and fully entered the kitchen.

Minato shot a cheesy, huge grin at Kushina as he answered, "I'm home." in a soft tone.

Stepping forward until he was behind Kushina, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, resting his head on her shoulder with a gentler, content smile on his face.

Kushina returned the smile as they stood there, enjoying the peaceful moment. With Minato becoming Hokage, they had lost plenty of time to spend alone together. However, no matter how much they missed the time they had been able to spend alone together, both were still genuinely happy that Minato was soon to achieve his life-long dream.

**(That last paragraph ended at 3,333. Not important, I just thought it weird.)**

However, even if they did enjoy the way they were cuddling, the scent of the food was calling and Minato's stomach called right back. A loud growling noise from Minato's stomach filled the room, causing him to slightly blush, and Kushina to laugh.

They sat down and quickly dug into their meal, enjoying the bursts of flavor. And in that moment, all of Minato's worries about his students, the mysterious boy, and his new duties as Hokage disappeared. In that moment, he was just a husband enjoying a delicious dinner with his wife.

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It had been two weeks now, since Minato's talk with Kakashi and his peaceful dinner with Kushina. He was now sitting in _His _office. He was now acting Fourth Hokage of Konoha. His coronation had been held a week ago and at that time he was announced as the Third's successor. And Minato had been well received.

The citizens of Konoha knew widely of their famous Yellow Flash, and were ecstatic when they heard that he was now their Hokage. Not only was Minato widely known for his prowess in battle, but also for his kind heart. At least, the Village Hidden in the Leaves knew of his kind heart.

It was widely accepted by the village that Minato would make a great Hokage for both his strength, and his spirit. It brought a smile to Minato's face whenever he thought back to the ceremony when he had accepted the hat from Hiruzen and revealed himself to the crowd.

The cheers had been deafening, and there was scant a frown to be seen in the crowd. The people had been quick to accept Minato, and only made him wish to do his very best as Hokage for his people.

So far, Minato's duties as Hokage had been dealing with the ending terms of the war. Although Iwa had been severely crippled, and this was surely the end of the war, Minato had to organize a cease fire with Iwa and all the other countries that had been fighting against Konoha.

It was going well with most of the other villages. The only really stubborn Nations were Iwa and Kumo, but it was to be expected. Iwa and Kumo are both known as the two most stubborn Hidden Villages.

So there Minato was, sitting in his office, trying to write up a potential treaty for cease fire. It was really quite taxing. He didn't want to offend the other Hidden Villages, but he didn't want to be too lenient with them either. Konoha had won the war but it hadn't come at an easy price.

Homes, land, and families had all been destroyed, and Minato wanted to make sure that neither Iwa, nor any other village, was ready to start another war so soon. So there he sat, trying to figure out how to go about this treaty.

As Minato puzzled through this complex system of politics and diplomacy, his thoughts wandered to the border with Kiri. There were still teams dispatched around Firs Country, but this point was where his mind wandered. He had been informed that Rin had charged out there, soon after hearing that they were in need of medical assistance.

Although Minato trusted in his student's abilities, he couldn't help but worry. Kiri was still resisting the end of the war and continued to throw huge assaults along the border. Minato couldn't help but worry for his student.

Trying to ignore the nagging worried feeling, Minato continued writing up the plans for negotiations. As he did so, he noticed the sun slowly descend in the sky, sinking in the horizon as colors of night began to invade the sky.

Minato picked up his teacup and prepared to take a sip when he heard a crack. Looking down, Minato noticed a slight crack in his cup. Worry assaulted him even stronger than before, although he tried to push it down and his thoughts wandered back to his student. He sent up a silent prayer that she would be alright, but decided to take precautions.

Minato signaled his ANBU, and when Wolf was kneeling in front of him with his head bowed, Minato said, "Get me Kakashi, and a team of jounin."

Giving a nod, the ANBU disappeared in search of the jounin. Minato could only hope that Rin would be alright. He knew Kakashi would do everything in his power to keep her safe. After all, he had made a promise to Obito.

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Minato sat in his chair in the Hokage's office, unable to move and unable to put together complete thoughts. _Did I just hear Kakashi right?_ Minato asked himself. He sat there, frozen and eyes wide; staring at the young jounin that stood before him with his head bowed.

Kakashi had just returned from Minato sending him after Rin and what he had just told Minato had shocked him to the core. And before Minato could catch his bearings and ask if he had heard the silver haired teen right, Kakashi spoke up once again.

"I killed Rin." Kakashi stated blankly. His head was bowed and his hair hid the expression on his face.

Minato could only sit there and let his thoughts organize themselves before he could finally decide on what to do. This situation was extremely unexpected and had thrown him through a hoop. Minato briefly wondered why he wasn't becoming emotional yet, but quickly racked it up to that he was still in shock.

As Minato realized that he was in shock, he began to slowly come back to himself and his emotions steadily crept up on him. Fighting back the coming raging waves of sadness, he suppressed his tears – although, his eyes still started to tear up – and he stood from his chair.

Slowly, he approached Kakashi. Kakashi was still highly emotional from what had happened to Obito, and although he had been on the road to recovery, Minato was highly suspicious that all his effort to help Kakashi had been made null-and-void with what had happened to Rin.

With those thoughts in mind, he approached Kakashi cautiously – as he would have a wild animal – and gently placed his hands upon Kakashi's shoulders. The boy flinched and immediately tried to retreat from the contact, but Minato wouldn't allow that and held the boy firmly as he knelt so that his face was level with Kakashi's.

This wasn't good, Kakashi was withdrawing into himself once again, and if this continued there would be nothing that Minato could do. Once Kakashi had withdrawn into his shell that had been hardened to the finest steel over the years, there would be nearly no reaching him. He would submerge himself into his own depression and never let anyone touch him.

Kakashi had done this once before, when his father had committed suicide. It had taken Minato years to reach Kakashi and even then, he hadn't fully emerged until Team Minato had become a firm presence in Kakashi's life.

With this knowledge, Minato gently urged Kakashi to look at him, "Kakashi," Minato began in a gentle voice.

The boy didn't give any more outward expressions as he slowly lifted his head to meet Minato's eyes. What Minato saw there made him slightly scared inwardly. Kakashi's one visible eye was dark, and turning colder every second. Minato could almost see every layer of Kakashi's shield being wrapped tightly around him and his eye grew darker and colder with every moment. It was like watching Kakashi's entire being ice over.

Minato acted quickly, because if he didn't, Kakashi would finish rectifying his shell and would turn impassive and emotionless, locking himself away from everyone.

These thoughts quickly grew to anger Minato and before he knew it, he was shouting at Kakashi, "STOP RIGHT THAT RIGHT NOW!" It wasn't harsh or cruel, it was a command.

Kakashi's eye widened in shock as he heard these words and the emotion laced within them. Those five words held all of Minato's commanding presence, as well as his fear of losing Kakashi to his own darkness, his desperation to reach Kakashi, and his anger at the fact that Kakashi would even think to start withdrawing into himself.

Before Kakashi could reply Minato had hugged him and was whispering in a quiet voice laced with sadness, "Stop Kakashi, don't lock yourself away, there are still people here for you and if you lock yourself away you will lock them out as well as lock yourself in."

These words made Kakashi pause in building his defenses. He hadn't been thinking of the people who he would be shutting out if he locked himself up again.

But as he thought about that, his thoughts darkened once more and he began to resume building the walls again. _Who would he be locking out? It's not like anyone cares about someone who kills his own comrades, not to mention their own friend and teammate._

As if sensing Kakashi's decent into his own despair resuming, Minato tried one more time, this time his voice was extremely strained and choked with emotion.

"Don't lock me out Kakashi."

That did it. Kakashi's eye widened to the size of a saucer as he shifted his head to look at his sensei. _He doesn't hate me? After all I did?_ Kakashi thought as he stood in shock while watching Minato. Ha had positioned himself so that he could see the expression upon Minato's face and to see his eyes.

What he saw shook him even further. There was no blame in Minato's eyes as he looked at Kakashi, only the same emotions expressed by his voice; despair, pleading, desperation. It was all there as well as the strength of honesty that backed up his words.

Realizing what he was putting Minato through, Kakashi finally came back to himself, although it couldn't be known whether he had completely pulled himself out of his self-despising thoughts or not.

"I – wha...- Minato-sensei, I-." Kakashi tried before swallowing, taking a breath, and trying again. "I didn't mean – I mean – I'm sorry Minato-sensei!"

With that, Kakashi's arms wrapped around Minato and gripped him fiercely as tears began to fall from his eyes and sobs finally racked his body. Kakashi needed someone right now, and Minato was determined to help his student.

Wrapping his arms around Kakashi tightly, Minato let a single tear fall before he steeled himself. He was going to be there for Kakashi right then, he could take care of his own emotions later.

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It was late into the night when Minato ad finally finished his work. Kakashi had stayed another fifteen minutes, just needing the comfort of his sensei, before he collected and excused himself, saying something about training and disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The paperwork had been tedious and Minato was constantly fighting off thoughts of what had happened earlier and the sudden buildup of his emotions. In all, he had been significantly slower in finishing his paperwork. Ergo; very late at night.

Minato soon felt his emotions build again and the urge to talk to someone hit him hard. He began to prepare for his Hiraishin, thinking of going home and talking to Kushina, but stopped short when he registered the late hour.

He had told Kushina to go to not wait up for him if he didn't return some time after dinner time, not wishing for her to stay up late waiting for him, so she was probably deeply asleep right now and he didn't want to wake her. However, the urge to talk to someone was strong, and he could feel that it was probably not best to wait. His emotions were warring strongly within him and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't talk to someone; constantly clouded with thoughts and fighting his tears.

It was then that he noticed the direction towards the Hokage's Vault. He had an inner debate with himself. While he didn't trust the boy, he could still remember what Hiruzen had said to him about the boy, and the memories crept up on him now.

_**Flashback**_

"_I often come down here to check on him for changes in his state. Not once has he showed signs of waking, but he has never failed to respond to my presence. And around the beginning of the second month since he was brought to this room, I started talking to him."_

_Here Hiruzen turned back to look at the as he continued in a quieter voice._

"_It was the day your squad came back from Kanabi Bridge."_

_Here they both bowed their heads to honor the Chunin on Minato's team that had been killed that day, under a pile of rocks. Obito…_

_After a moment, they both lifted their heads and Hiruzen continued his story._

"_I came down here, the boy acknowledged my presence, and I sat here in silence for a while. Then I began to talk, I talked about how I was weary of the war, and how I was sick of sending young kids out to the war, only for them to come back scared or not at all. And during the whole time, he lied there, and he listened, and so, since that day, I have come down here and talked with him about whatever was on my mind. I don't come too often, maybe at the end of every week, but what I want to tell you Minato is that, no matter how hard being Hokage gets, you still have someone down here to talk to, and the best part? He won't tell anyone else!"_

_**Flashback End**_

Minato let out a sigh of resignation. He needed to talk to someone and the boy was here. Also, Hiruzen had said that he had talked to the boy about many things and it wasn't like what he needed to talk about was top secret, it was just about himself. With that, Minato walked in the direction of the Hokage's Vault, wishing to clear his thoughts and lift the weight from his chest.

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In the Village Hidden in the Leaves there is a tower at the center, and in that tower is where the village coordinates its Shinobi forces and divides missions. In this tower is where the Hokage works and where the Hokage hides his secrets.

Deep under the earth, below the Hokage Tower, is the Hokage's Vault. In that vault is where village secrets are contained kept secret from even the council. Only a select number of people know all that is in the vault, namely two people know all that is inside, while few others have information on one secret in the vault.

In this vault is where we find Minato Namikaze, standing in front of a door to a room that contained a certain blond teenager that has had Minato weary for weeks. However, Minato needed to talk to someone, and it was best not to trouble his wife, or anyone else, at this hour.

Taking a deep breath, Minato looked at the steel door and reached out his hands to perform the seals to unlock the door. Once that was done, he reached for the door handle and turned it slowly.

It was dark in the room when he opened the door, so dark that one would have thought the room to be empty.

Minato took a deep breath and walked to the switch, flicking the light on and bathing the room in artificial light. No one could mistake it now, the room wasn't empty. Pushed against the far wall at the back of the dull room was a hospital bed which contained the blond that the Fourth Hokage had come to see.

Taking a few steps, Minato stopped just before the boys sensing range. Minato had to mentally prepare himself, this boy had unnerved him with the things that he knew, things that he shouldn't be able to know. But. Minato needed to talk to someone, and this boy was a good confidant to the Third Hokage.

With that in mind, Minato took the step, disregarding his worries – for the moment – to work out his feeling for what had happened to Rin.

The reaction was instant, same instant recognition as the first time Minato had come. Although the boy was more relaxed this time, making Minato wonder if the boy had reacted the way he did the first time as a bout of excitement.

"Lord Fourth." Came the boy's strong voice, with no sign of disuse from the weeks Minato had not visited. And the boys head casually turned towards Minato this time, with a bright smile that seemed much more casual than the first. The boy was clearly happy and excited, yet he was keeping himself calm and composed.

It was a funny thought that, while in a coma, the boy could still control his reactions to people to some degree.

Relaxing minutely, Minato stepped into the boys sensing range fully and headed deeper into the room. There was a chair close to the bed, most likely from the Third's visits, which Minato took advantage of.

Once seated, Minato tried to think of what he wanted to say as he was coming up short. After a few moments of silence, and still unsure of what to say, Minato began to shift in a restless manner. He was beginning to think himself ridiculous for coming to talk to a boy that wouldn't answer him. It was a ridiculous thought, and he felt foolish for coming, but as he was preparing to get up to leave, he felt something wet drop onto his hand.

Looking down, Minato tried to make sense of where the drop of water sitting on the back of his palm had come from, and when a few more joined it he looked up to check the ceiling.

Not seeing a leak in the stone ceiling, it finally clicked in Minato's mind. He was crying. Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of Konoha, was crying.

At this realization, he let out a hiccup, before he settled himself back in his seat and spilled his sadness to the boy lying quietly in front of him. Retelling the tale of the day Obito died, and leading up to what happened to Rin. And as he talked, Minato began to feel lighter and soon, he was spilling everything to the boy.

His worries and fears as Hokage, his sadness, his troubles, anything and everything that came to mind. It was a relief, finally lifting that weight from his shoulders. He didn't want to trouble Kushina with these thoughts; he never wanted to cause her trouble.

"… and I'm worried for Kakashi," Minato continued telling the boy. "He has a hard time dealing with his emotions, and I'm worried he is going to close himself off again, he's done it once before, and he was starting to do it again in my office. I don't know what to do for him."

With these words finally out, Minato sat there crying softly, although the tears were finally beginning to stop. And, as if the boy had realized Minato was done, his voice appeared in the room again, soft and barely a whisper, but it was present, "Kakashi…" he breathed out.

Minato looked directly at the boy, paying careful attention to him at this new development, and listened carefully to see if the boy would say any more.

Minato's face twisted in confusion as he thought he heard the boy say pervert, but before he could think about it, the boy continued with a small smile in that same quiet voice.

"… will… better… needs… friends"

While Minato couldn't catch it all, he understood what the boy had said. Kakashi will get better if he has friends to help him.

Minato smiled softly at the boys words before an unsettled feeling began to form in his stomach. Sarutobi had said that he had talked to the bay many times, and he had never responded, but he responded for Minato.

Minato sat there, thinking about what to do for a while. While he was still pensive about the boy's knowledge, he was beginning to trust him, and he was beginning to like the kid too. While these thoughts spun around Minato's head he realized something, he might learn something about the boy if he kept coming, after all, if the boy responded to him, the boy might say something that would help Minato understand how he knows what he knows.

With that in mind, Minato put his worries to the back of his mind and decided that he would visit the boy regularly. Though, even as Minato told himself he was just visiting the boy to protect the village, he couldn't shake the feeling that talking to the boy had really made him feel better, taking a load off his shoulders that he hadn't been free of since he had been nominated as Fourth Hokage.

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**AN: Yes! Finished it! I'm in the car right now, and I had time on my hands so I finished this chapter. Sorry, I just started working and I have had no time all week, except Thursday but I wanted to relax that day. It's Sunday now and when I get home I'll upload this – if my dad will let me use the internet. He has been doing some big project and keeps yelling at the whole family to get off the internet so, yeah. Anyway, I deleted the previous chapter three filler and put it in here, so if you read my ANs, at the bottom is some info for you. Also, I know Kakashi seems REALLY OOC but it won't stay that way. I just wanted to emphasize the loss of Rin, it was just a small slip in his emotions, he will seem more like himself further in the story, Minato also seems a little OOC but I needed him to be emotional, it was the push for him to go visit Naruto even though he was weary of Naruto.**

**Poll announcement, I wish to know your thoughts, Poll is up on my profile about your thoughts on my story.**

**WTYL**

**Sincerely,**

**Bananarock509**


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